DUP's Sammy Wilson is among the Ulster unionists joining forces with the Tory Brexiteers

Short haul routes cost an extra £13 in APD in economy.

Writing for The Sun, ex-Tory Cabinet Minister Priti Patel and the DUP’s Sammy Wilson said: “The summer holidays are a distant memory and families across the country will be starting to save up for next year’s trip.

“Yet a big chunk of that cost doesn’t pay for your holiday - it goes straight into the government’s coffers.

“The UK has the highest short and long haul aviation tax anywhere in Europe. Cutting air passenger duty is exactly the kind of policy that Brexit Britain should embrace.”

The Sun Says

BRITAIN has the steepest air tax in Europe.

So it is right that politicians are calling on Philip Hammond to slash air passenger duty in the budget.

Cutting it will make holidays cheaper for families who have been hit by pricier trips because of the weaker Pound.

On long haul flights, there is a £78 tax on an economy ticket. This is a huge leap from 1994 when it was just £10.

There is no environmental justification, it is simply used to fill the Treasury’s coffers. Slashing it will also boost businesses hoping to sell products outside of the EU. It will show Brexit

'Cutting air passenger duty is exactly the kind of policy that Brexit Britain should embrace' – Priti Patel and Sammy Wilson

The summer holidays are a distant memory and families across the country will be starting to save up for next year’s trip. Yet a big chunk of that cost doesn’t pay for your holiday - it goes straight into the government’s coffers.

Buying a ticket for a long-haul flight out of the UK will set you back at least £78 in air passenger duty, a tax levied on all adult flyers from UK airports. So for a family of four flying in economy class, you’d have to fork out £156, on top of whatever the airline is charging as their fare and airport charges.

This is quite the increase from when two rates of either £5 or £10 was introduced in 1994.

Research released last year by A Fair Tax On Flying, which campaigns for a reduction in air passenger duty, shows that this tax makes up 24 per cent of the average cost of a European short-haul ticket.

Looking around, you quickly realise our tax on flying is giving Brits a raw deal. The UK has the highest short and long-haul aviation tax anywhere in Europe. Countries nearby, like Ireland, have abolished their air taxes after seeing the bad effects it had for their economies. Northern Ireland gets hit particularly bad, as holidaymakers head to Dublin to dodge the unnecessary costs.

Flying does have consequences, like emissions and noise for people who live right near airports, but the £3.5 billion it raises pays for those many times over.

Cutting air passenger duty is exactly the kind of policy that Brexit Britain should embrace. It would make saving for those hard-earned holidays easier, and it would also make the UK a more attractive place to come to. It would be a massive boon for Northern Ireland. Tourists and exporters would see that the country is open for business.

Committing to cut air passenger duty in half would be a great message and save flyers millions. That’s why MPs from different parties are supporting this campaign from the TaxPayers’ Alliance and A Fair Tax On Flying. The Chancellor should commit to this in next week’s budget and make saving for holidays that bit easier.